San Mateo County Birding Guide by Sequoia Audubon Society - Printed on October 31, 2026
Devil's Slide Trail, a previously treacherous section of Highway 1, is now open to the public and offers rich ocean views, coastal landscapes, and wildlife sightings. The trail is 1.3 miles long one-way. The bird list for this newly-opened park is still being established. Nesting species are the major draw here. Devil's Slide Rock (a.k.a. Egg Rock) is home to a large Common Murre breeding colony. Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants use the cliffs for breeding, and Black Oystercatcher is also a known nester in the area. A pair of Peregrine Falcons were long-known to drivers on this road, but now with the opening of the trail, the presence of (we hope) nesting Rock Wrens can be confirmed, after almost twenty years with no data. This trail also provides an excellent setting for sea-watching; you are well-advised to bring a scope.
The trail is a San Mateo County Park and is open to dogs, bicyclist, equestrians, and hikers. The trail is a segment of the California Coast Trail. Trail parking lots are open 8 a.m. to sunset, year round. There are three overlook locations that offer benches and observation scopes, ten interpretive panels that discuss the history, geology, and animal and plant species of the area. The trail is paved, with separate lanes for hikers and directional bike traffic. Many convenient amenities are provided as well, such as pet waste stations, bike racks, drinking fountains and restrooms. Please make sure that your dog is kept on leash. Other common wildlife sightings include Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion, Western Fence Lizard, and various cetacean species.
Brant (uncommon here), Canada Goose (uncommon here), Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, California Quail, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Black Swift (rare at this location, but habitat warrants watching for it), White-throated Swift, Anna's Hummingbird, Allen's Hummingbird, Black Oystercatcher, Black-bellied Plover, Whimbrel, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Sanderling, Red-necked Phalarope, Wandering Tattler, Willet, Pomarine Jaeger, Marbled Murrelet, Cassin's Auklet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Bonaparte's Gull (unusual here), Short-billed Gull (unusual here), Western Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull, Iceland Gull thayeri, Glaucous-winged Gull, Caspian Tern, Elegant Tern, Forster's Tern (unusual here), Red-throated Loon, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Northern Fulmar, Pink-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Black-vented Shearwater, Brandt's Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Downy Woodpecker (rare here), Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Olive-sided Flycatcher (migration), Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Hutton's Vireo, Cassin's Vireo (rare in spring from parking lots), Steller's Jay, California Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Bushtit, Wrentit, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pygmy Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Pacific Wren, European Starling, California Thrasher (rare at this location), Bewick's Wren, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, House Sparrow, American Pipit, House Finch, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Junco, Fox Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler (rare at this location), Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler (rare at this location), Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler
In this guide, "rarities" are defined as those species given an County Abundance Code of 4, 5, or 6.
Greater White-fronted Goose (fly-by, 2019), White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck (2021), Red-necked Grebe (2020, 2021, 2022), Wild Turkey (in surrounding hills), Brown Booby (2015, 2018, 2021), Nazca Booby (2022), Northern Gannet (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019), Bald Eagle (migration), Golden Eagle (2017), Black-legged Kittiwake (2016, 2020), Franklin's Gull (2017), Western Kingbird (2017), Purple Martin (2017, migration), Rock Wren (breeding), Palm Warbler (2014)
